Wordorigins.org

dirt poor

Dave Wilton, Saturday, June 10, 2006

This term is American in origin and dates to at least 1937. The exact reference is uncertain, but it is most likely to be evocative of the dust bowl and the extreme poverty and unclean conditions in which many had to live during the Depression.

From a Time magazine review of the Boris Karloff movie Night Key in the 26 April 1937 issue:

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